Lifi, kesako ?
First used in 2011, the term Lifi or Light Fidelity refers to the technology that uses the beam from light sources to transmit data. In practice, the data is transmitted exclusively via LED bulbs, the only ones that switch - blink imperceptibly - at a speed high enough to transmit the data. The user can then download the data, provided that he is placed under a lighted spot and connects his electronic device to the source.
With the densest lighting network in the world, the potential of Lifi is immense!
The benefits of Lifi
This technology has many advantages. First of all, it is much faster than a Wi-Fi or 4G network, the data transmission speed being equivalent to that allowed by optical fiber.
Lifi also offers a very high level of security. It is indeed impossible to intercept communications: they do not pass through walls and it is absolutely necessary to be close to a light point to connect. Moreover, unlike Wi-Fi, Lifi does not emit electromagnetic waves that can harm the health of certain particularly sensitive people, such as those hospitalized in a health institution or children in schools. Another advantage, and not the least, is that Lifi allows data to be transmitted in places where Wi-Fi and/or the telephone network do not work.
With the increasing use of energy-efficient LED lights in buildings, Lifi, a technology with many advantages, has a bright future ahead of it!
Dalkia, a Lifi expert
As Lifi specialists, our teams have been offering our customers innovative solutions for several years now, enabling them to use their lighting systems to transmit their data. These solutions have been deployed in local communities, such as the Camille-Claudel eco-neighborhood in Palaiseau, in the Essonne region of France, where Lifi was introduced in 2015, and in hospitals.
Dalkia has a long history of working with healthcare institutions, and now supports more than 4,800 of them. For Fabien Ruiz, Dalkia's head of innovation and technical solutions, Lifi is particularly well suited to this type of facility: "The healthcare sector is highly regulated, and our aim is to offer solutions that meet our customers' constraints. Our Lifi offering is compatible with regulations and can be used to assist in patient care, transfer files from one department to another, locate equipment, etc. Thanks to Lifi, it is both possible to secure medication processes and save time, by activating, for example, reservation functions for equipment or shared spaces such as radiology examination centers. "This is a promising solution for more efficient buildings," Fabien Ruiz enthuses.